Fastener holding fixture



Feb. 10, 1942. s 2,272,259

FASTENER HOLDING FIXTURE Filed Nov. 27, 1959 I I I E I INVENT OR.

BY fTPA/wr KAMAY ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 10, 1942 srrs FASTENER HOLDING FIXTURE Frank K. Ames, Aurora, 111., assignor to Independent Pneumatic Tool Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application November 27, 1939, Serial No. 306,256

Claims.

This invention relates to a fixture for receiving and holding a supply of screws in position to be automatically picked up by a portable screw driving too1 equipped with a screw gripping finder device at its outer end.

The main purpose and object of invention is to provide a fixture having means to hold the screws in an upright position with their headed ends uppermost so that the tool may readily and easily pick up the screws at their headed ends on pressing the finder end of the tool into the fixture over the selected screw.

A further object of my invention is to depressihly mount the screw holding element so that the tool when pressed against said element will de press the same with respect to the screw to free its headed end for gripping by the tool.

A further object of my invention is to provide a stop or base element below the screw holding element to limit the downward movement of a screw with the holding element on being depressed to lift the headed end of the screw above the holding element for gripping engagement by the tool.

A further object of my invention is to provide the depressible mounting referred to in the form of spring devices located between the holding and the base elements of the fixture.

The invention consists further in the features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a side view with parts broken away and in section, respectively, of my improved screw holding fixture;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said fixture with one corner of the screw holding element broken away to show the underlying base or stop element and one of the springs of the .depressible mounting between them;

Fig. 3 shows the manner in which the fixture is used with a portable screw driving hand tool having a screw gripping finder at its outer end; and

Fig. 4 is a larger fragmentary sectional view showing the gripping end of the tool depressing the holding element and gripping a freed screw head.

As shown in the drawing, the fixture of my invention comprises a tray element l and an underlying base element 2. The elements 1 and 2 are maintained in this relation by a number of rod-like connectors 3, 3 which extend between and engage the elements I and 2 preferably at their corners when said elements are in rectangular form as shown.

Coiled expansion springs 4 surround the connectors 3 between and engage the tray and the base elements I, 2 to yieldably hold the tray above the base element 2 with the bottom wall 5 of the tray out of contact with the base 2. The latter is provided with recesses 6. 6 at its corners to accommodate the connectors and their encircling springs. The connectors 3 are non-threaded in their portions encircled by the springs and where they extend through the tray so that the tray and the springs may move freely on the connectors when the tray is depressed. The openings in the tray for the connectors are of a size to guide the tray in its up and down movements to avoid binding of the tray on the connectors when the tray is pressed downwardly at any point.

The tray l is preferably made of sheet material, such as metal, and has marginal upright side and end walls I, 8 to retain the screws within the tray when deposited therein. The bottom wall 5 of the tray is provided with a. complement of substantially parallel slots 9,9. The 1atter extend completely through the bottom wall 5 0f the tray and serve to pass the stem or shank portions in of the screws when the latter are deposited in the tray. The headed ends I! of the screws bridge the slots on the upper side of the tray wall and thus the screws are supported at their headed ends in positions to be gripped by the yieldable fingers 12 of a split finder device l3 at the outer end of the screw driving tool l4 shown in Fig. i.

With the springs i holding the tray in spaced relation above the'base 2, the'shanks of the screws in the slots terminate short of the base member 2 in the normal positions of the parts as shown in Fig. 1. Hence, when the tray is depressed by the tool M to pick up a screw, the lower end of the shank ll) of the screw is forced against the base 2 and its headed end H is lifted above the bottom wall 5 of the tray for entry into the space between the gripping fingers 12 of the finder device It as shown in Fig. 4. These fingers are yieldable, spreading apart as the screw head is forced between them and gripping the screw when the head reaches the recesses i5 within the fingers adjacent their outer or free ends. The latter have inclined camming surfaces H5 in advance of the recesses so that the screw head may spread the fingers on being forced between them. This finder construction is shown and claimed in the co-pending application of John Schindel, filed December 6, 1939, Serial No. 5 and owned by the assignee of my in"- stant application.

A supply of screws to be driven by the tool [4 is deposited in the tray on its bottom wall 5 in no particular order. The tray may then be vibrated to cause the screws to fall into the slots 9, the screws being then supported by their headed ends bridging the slots. The screws will take positions along the slots and be immediately available to be picked up by the tool due to the fiat upper surface of the bottom wall 5 of the tray presenting the headed ends of the screws in projecting relation above said bottom wall in the normally lifted position of the tray. The tool, as before described, is inserted into the tray with its finder end l3 over the selected screw and is pressed downwardly against the bottom wall of the tray at said screw. This depresses the tray against its spring support, and the screw head is freed for entry into the finder. The screw is also pressed against the base 2 and hence the screw is properly supported in an upright position to be gripped by the finder. When the grip is made, the screw is connected with the tool and the latter is withdrawn from the tray carrying the screw forinsertion and driving into the hole in the work to receive it. The screw automatically releases itself from the finder when driven into place, the screw head spreading the fingers of the finder as it is forced out of the same by the driving bit or blade [3a.

The supporting fixture shown and described facilitates the handling of screws for screw driving tools and thus contributes to the ease and speed in screw driving operations. The base element 2 may be a casting to give it sufficient weight to hold the fixture against accidental displacement when in use and may be formed with supporting feet 11 as shown. The slots 9 may be made wide enough to accommodate screws of different sizes within a given range. Also, the springs support the tray above the base at the required distance for all screws which it is made to handle.

While the fixture shown herein is designed to hold screws of the machine type, it is to be understood that my invention broadly contemplates a fixture for holding various types of screws as well as other headed fasteners which may be driven by a portable tool device.

The portable driving tool l4 shown herein is of the pneumatically operated type having a rotary motor comprising a rotor with piston blades against which the admitted compressed air acts to drive the tool. The tool is also equipped with a screw driving bit or blade which is forced into the kerf of the screw when the tool is pressed against the work. Likewise, the tool is equipped with a power clutch which is engaged on pressing the tool against the work and a slip clutch is included in the assembly to automatically release the power drive on the screw when the latter tightens in the work. The structure referred to accords to the design in tools of this character and the same follows for portable electrically motor driven screw driving tools when they are used with my improved screw holding fixture.

The details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, except as pointed out in the annexed claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fastener holding fixture of the character described comprising, a base element, a tray element above said base element and having slots therein to receive and support a supply of headed fasteners with their headed ends bridging the slots and their shank portions extending through and below said slots, coiled springs between the tray and the base elements for yieldably supporting the tray element above the base element with the lower ends of the fasteners normally out of contact with the base element whereby the headed ends of the fasteners will be lifted above the slots on depressing the tray element towards the base element to engage the lower ends of the fastener with the base element, and rod-like members connecting the tray and base elements through said prings.

2. A fastener holding fixture of the character described comprising, a base element, a tray element above the base element and having openings therein to receive and support a supply of headed fasteners with their headed ends bridging the openings and their shank portions extending through and below the openings towards the base element, and means for normally holding the tray above the base element with the lower ends of the fasteners above and out of contact with the base element, said means including yielding means whereby the tray may be depressed bodily towards the base element to lift the headed ends of the fasteners above the tray on the engagement of the lower ends of the fasteners with the base element, said yielding means acting on the release of the tray to return the same to its normal position above the base element the upper surface of the tray which supports the headed ends of the fasteners being substantially fiat to present the heads of the fasteners inprojecting relation above the tray in the normally lifted position thereof.

3. A fastener holding fixture of the character described comprising, a base element, a tray element above the base element and having slots therein to receive and support a supply of headed fasteners with their headed ends bridging the slots and their shank portions extending through and below the slots towards the base element, means slidably supporting the tray for vertical up and down movement with respect to the base element, and yielding means normally holding the tray above the base element with the lower ends of the fasteners above and out of contact with the base element whereby the tray may be bodily depressed towards the base element to lift the headed ends of the fasteners above the tray on th engagement of the lower ends of the fasteners with the base element, said yielding means acting on the release of the tray to return the same to its normal position above the base element.

4. A fastener holding fixture of the character described comprising, a base element, a tray element above the base element and having slots therein to receive and support a supply of headed fasteners with their headed ends bridging the slots and their shank portions extending through and below the slots towards the base element, means providing a sliding connection for the tray with the base element for a vertical up and down movement in respect thereto, and. yielding means interposed between the tray and the base element for normally holding the tray above the base element with the lower ends of the fasteners above and out of contact with the base element whereby the tray may be depressed bodily towards the base element to lift the headed ends of the fasteners above the tray on engagement of the lower ends of the fasteners with the base element, said yielding means serving on the release of the tray to return it to its normal position above the base element, the upper surface of the tray which supports the headed ends of the fasteners being substantially flat to present the heads of the fasteners in projecting relation above the tray in the normally lifted position thereof.

5. A fixture of the character described for use with a screw driving tool having a screw driving blade and a finder having spreadable fingers for picking up and holding a screw by its head in position to be engaged and driven by said blade, said fixture being constructed to hold a supply of screws to be picked up and driven by said tool and comprising, a base element, a tray element above the base element and having slots therein to receive and support the screws with their headed ends bridging the slots and their shank portions extending through and below the slots towards the base element, means slidably connecting the tray to the base element for vertical movement towards and from the same, and spring means for normally holding the tray above the base element with the lower ends of the screws in the slots opposed to the base element for contact therewith to 'lift the heads of the screws above the tray for engagement by the fingers on the bodily depression of the tray by the tool over the head of the selected screw, said spring means acting on the release of the tray by the tool to return the tray to its normal position above the base element with the screws in the slots supported by the tray with their headed ends extending above the upper surface of the tray.

FRANK K. AMES. 

